Ashton Technology Group, Inc. Signs Agreement With The MacGregor FIX Network.

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 2, 1999--

The Ashton Technology Group, Inc. (Nasdaq Small Cap: ASTN) today announced that it has recently signed an agreement with The MacGregor Group allowing Ashton's advanced transaction systems to receive Financial Information Exchange (FIX)-compliant messages from MacGregor's Predator and MFTP trade order management systems.

The agreement provides the immediate benefit of empowering the rapidly expanding number of Predator and MFTP users direct order routing access to Ashton's volume-weighted average price (VWAP(R)) trading system.

"This is one of many ways of demonstrating our VWAP(R) trading system's ability to seamlessly integrate into any trading room," says Fred S. Weingard, Ashton's Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer.

Steven Levy, President and CEO of The MacGregor Group states, "We are delighted to see another innovative execution venue developed which will also reduce our customers' transaction costs. FIX is the ideal facilitator of such connections and we are pleased to add Ashton's VWAP(R) trading system to our list of over 60 brokers, exchange trading systems, and ECNs that our clients can access via The MacGregor FIX Network."

On Friday, August 27, 1999, Ashton launched its VWAP(R) trading system as a facility of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, Inc. Initially, participants will be able to trade up to 20 of the 300 listed securities approved for VWAP(R) system trading. The primary objective of this initial stage is to successfully demonstrate all operational aspects of the VWAP(R) trading system.

The MacGregor FIX Network has connected institutional money managers and brokers communicating FIX-based indications of interest and orders and executions since March of 1997. Predator is The MacGregor's Group's global equity order management system designed to improve the effectiveness of buy-side investment operations.

Predator gives portfolio managers and traders the information they need to monitor the components of implementation costs and the tools to respond quickly to changing market conditions. MFTP is a real-time order management system that automates virtually every step in the trading process. Global in focus, MFTP supports a broad range of security types, multiple currencies and 24-hour execution.

A Y2K compliant system based on industry standard client/server technology, MFTP eliminates paperwork and redundant data entry reducing errors and creating a more efficient trading operation. MFTP uses the native Microsoft Windows interface and SQL Server.

Ashton Technology Group is developing a family of on-line transaction systems using advanced telecommunication technologies, computing technologies, together with data and information security technologies to facilitate global financial transactions. Ashton's proprietary transaction systems are made available to end users through networks, third parties, and the Internet.

The MacGregor Group, Inc. is the leading provider of order management systems and FIX network services to institutional investors. With more than 80 buy-side clients, 110 employees, and offices in the U.S. and Europe, MacGregor has the experience, know-how, client base, global reach, and financial strength to stay ahead of the rapidly-changing demands of the marketplace.

The forgoing news release contains forward looking statements based on current management expectations, including that the alliance with The MacGregor Group will meet the expectations. A discussion of other factors which may cause actual results to differ from current expectations can be found in Ashton's reports filed with the SEC.